The mayor of Medellín, Federico Gutiérrez, and the representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to Colombia, Rafael Zavala Gómez del Campo, will sign an international partnership agreement to work jointly for the consolidation of a Local Market Model that promotes the economic development of agricultural production in the capital of Antioquia. The municipal administration will invest 370 million pesos in the first stage of this project.
During the next ten months, FAO will tour the five townships of Medellín in order to understand the logistic distribution and commercialization of the products cultivated by our farmers, with the objective of proposing a model that permits direct and fair commerce for producers, and access to local products for consumers. This will promote a rapprochement between the urban city and the rural city, bridging the social gaps that currently persist.
In addition, this model will analyze the institutional offer implemented by the municipal administration in the rural areas of Medellín, to establish methodologies that improve the processes and articulates the strategies to strengthen the growth and development of inhabitants of the rural areas Medellín.
The Agency for Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and the Metropolitan Area, has accompanied the consolidation of this agreement that opens the doors of the capital of Antioquia to implement food security experiences that are articulated with the international models implemented by the Organization of the United Nations.
Informative context
The construction of the Local Market Model is part of the Development Plan “Medellín counts on you” on its challenge 6.6: Medellín recognizes the importance of its rural territory, led by the Townships Management, which contributes to the fulfillment of FAO’s Food for the Cities strategy.
The city has a rural territory that occupies more than 70% of its extension. It is inhabited by peasants who make a living from growing fruits and vegetables. The creation of a model that allows a consolidation of the local commerce in the city will also promote an increase in the income of these farmers and the permanence in time of this economic sector.
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